1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device of the silicon on nothing (SON) structure and a method of manufacture thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The SON structure has attracted attention in which a cavity is formed below a device formation area in a substrate in order to reduce the power consumption of and increase the operating speed of semiconductor devices. A method of forming a fine SON structure has been developed which involves forming a shallow-trench device isolation region (STI) in a substrate, then forming two or more fine cavities in the substrate by ion implantation, and growing the cavities by heat treatment so that they are integrated into a large cavity in contact with the device isolation region (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-332540). With this method, after the device isolation region has been formed in a substrate, a cavity is formed in contact with the device isolation region; thus, the device formation area above the cavity can be supported by the device isolation region without sink.
Also, a technique is known which involves forming two or more trenches in a substrate, then forming a device formation area made of silicon by melting the substrate portions located around the trench through heat treatment. By so doing, the trenches are integrated into a cavity which is larger in size than the trenches and located inside the substrate. When the cavity is thus formed first, trying to form a device isolation region in the form of trench so that it is in contact with the cavity and surrounds a device formation area results in falling of the device formation area due to the loss of its support. It is therefore difficult to form the device formation area in contact with the cavity. Accordingly, one might suggest forming a device isolation region in the form of trench which continuously surrounds a device formation area while leaving portions of the substrate around the cavity to support the device formation area. In that case, however, even if the substrate portions supporting the device formation area were insulated at a later time, the device formation area would have portions which are not isolated by the cavity from the underlying silicon substrate. This would result in an increase in parasitic capacitance, making it difficult to reduce the power consumption of the device. Accordingly, there is a demand for a semiconductor device of the SON structure and a method of manufacture thereof which permits the device formation area to be supported with certainty, the parasitic capacitance to be prevented from increasing, and the power consumption to be reduced.